This past week I was in Carlsbad, California. We flew into San Diego Sunday night and worked at the client's office for the entire week. The weather was cold for what California usually is, but compared to New Jersey it was gorgeous to me! Every day was around 60/62 degrees and sunny. Though we didn't get to enjoy the pool at our hotel cause of the hours we did drive with the windows down and at lunch outside. The little things that make me happy!

On the last day in California we went to San Diego for lunch at this authentic, hole in the wall mexican restaurant. Two of the guys from the client (who live in Mexico) took us there. It was very bare bones but really delicious! After lunch we went by the water to walk around and then hang out at this restaurant/bar until our 9:30 pm flight home.

I was not looking forward to the red eye home especially considering that after landing at 5 am that we had to go to work that day. I was exhausted but I made it through the day. I'm now home for a week and head back out to California for another client the next week.

Monday, February 14, 2011

This was our first Valentine's Day as a married couple... so I was really looking forward to it. Since Valentine's Day was on a Monday and I wasn't sure if I'd be expected to work late at my new job, Chris got us reservations for the Sunday night. We went to McCormick and Schmick's for dinner, which was where we went on our first date.

On Monday (actual Valentine's Day), Chris surprised me with some chocolates from Enjou. They were hiding behind the couch pillow waiting for me to find them when I ate breakfast :) Enjou was where he got me chocolate on my birthday when we were dating and also where we got our Wedding Favors. Later that day Chris sent me these gorgeous red roses and some more chocolates to my work.

Fortunately, I was able to leave work on time and was able to meet Chris at home at the regular time. I decided I would make Chris a nice dinner and dessert for Valentine's Day. I made some chocolate chip whoopie pies in the shape of hearts. It got a little messy but in the end they turned out well :)

I also made some Penne Vodka for dinner. It was a new recipe, so I wasn't sure if it would turn out, but once again Chris loved it :) He's taking leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

After dinner Chris gave me my Valentine's Day Gift... I know, he totally spoiled me this year. Here's the back story with the gift... Right now we only use one car because we don't want to pay for 2 spots in the apartment parking garage. It's a lot of money for a spot and since Chris takes the train every day to work, the majority of the time we don't need it. But as a result, Chris has a hard time during tax season going anywhere without me knowing. Since I work Saturdays these couple of months, our only full day to run errands is on Sunday, so we do a lot of them together. So when he told me he needed the car to run some errands on his own, I put two and two together and figured he was trying to buy me a gift. I had no clue what he was getting me. He tried to trick me and told me to leave the GPS in the car, which made me think he was getting my gift at a place he didn't know how to get to. This threw me for a loop, and then that night when he came in with a huge gift bag I was even more confused. I couldn't imagine what he got me that would require that big of a gift bag! Even though I'm not good with waiting for surprises, I was good and didn't try to peak or look at the GPS to find out where he went. So when he gave me my gift tonight, I was pleasantly surprised to open this Tory Burch bag!

A month or so ago we were walking through the mall and I saw this bag and commented how cute it was. Well, Chris being a great husband, remembered this and went back to the mall to buy it. He was just trying to trick me saying he needed the GPS and even entered in a fake address in case I looked... How crazy is that!

This Valentine's Day was amazing! Chris did a great job at making me feel very special and surprising me. I love him so much and feel so lucky every day to have him in my life. We will have been married for 6 months at the end of this month and I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I love you Chris!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

For Super Bowl Chris and I invited some of our neighbors over to watch the game and eat some yummy food. I put out the usual spread... Veggie Tray and Cheese & Crackers as well as adding some new favorites. We had deviled eggs (with the help of my mom), shrimp, some chips and dip, pizza rolls, and some chicken poppers. Our neighbors brought over turkey meatballs and a buffalo chicken dip. The food was all so amazing that even after I was full, I just kept eating. That night (and the next morning when I was still full) I wished that I hadn't eaten so much.

Mom got me these super cool Super Bowl Plates, Napkins, and Cups

Waiting for our guests to arrive

Now while the food at a Superbowl party is very important, the game is the main attraction. Fortunately we had the huge TV to watch it on. We even had the kitchen TV on so that no one would miss a moment when refilling their plates or getting another drink. The Superbowl is probably one of Chris' favorite events since it combines his love of sports and his background of marketing. He not only is really into the game, but he is just as into watching and rating all the commercials. It was a lot of fun to finally have a place where we can have a few people over. I can't wait to have a bigger place so we can invite even more people! I love entertaining and found that getting ready and making the food was a lot of fun!